Car-coupling



(No Model.) 2Shee tsSheet 1. W. A. CASSIDY & T. P. McGEE.

GAR COUPLING.

No. 508,085. Patentd Nov. 7, 1893 (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. A. GASSIDY & T. P. MoGEE.

' GAB COUPLING.

No'. 508,085. Patented Nov.7, 1893.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM A. OASSIDY AND THOMAS F. MOGEE, OF AMARILTQO, TEXAS.

CAR-COUPLING.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 508,085, dated November '7, 1893.

' 7 Application filed May 15, 1893- Serlal No. 474,209. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Beit known that we, WILLIAM A. CASSIDY and THOMAS F. MOGEE, citizens of the United States, residing at Amarillo, inthe county of Potter and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car- Couplers;-and we do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to improvements in car couplers; and its novelty will be fully understood from the following description and claims when taken in connect ion with the annexed drawings, in which Figure 1, is a front elevation of a car equipped with our coupler. Fig. 2, is a detail plan view of one of the draw heads and the buffers at one end of the car. Fig. 3, is a detail, horizontal section illustratingthe manner of connecting the drawheads at opposite ends of the car, and Fig. 4, is a detail side elevation, partly in section, illustrating the draw heads and the mechanism for adjusting the coupling link.

Referring by letter to said drawings: A, indicates a car which may be of any ordinary or approved construction, and B, indicates the draw bars of our improved coupler which are arranged at the ends of the car as shown. These draw bars B, have their inner ends reduced as shown at a, and passed through fixed guides b, and they are provided upon said reduced portions with cushion springs c, as shown. The bars B, are also provided with transverse bars at; and to these bars are connected the rods e,"which connect the draw bars at opposite ends .of the car and prevent either of said bars from being pulled out.-

The draw heads 0, comprise two jaws or sections f, as shown; and these jaws are provided at their outer ends with semi-circular hooks to engagethe headed link D, and at their inner ends with trunnions g, which are journaled in the plates h, fixed on the draw bars. The trunnions g, of the draw heads,

extend through the plates h, and'take into the slides 11, which travel in suitable ways in the longitudinalbeams j, of the car and serve to hold the draw heads in their proper position.

E, indicates the buders which are designed to protect the draw heads from damage when the cars come together. These bufiers are arranged upon opposite sides of the draw heads and are supported by stirrups as 70, and they have their inner ends reduced and passed through fixed guides Z, and lso have cushion springs as m,arranged upontheir reduced portions in a manner similar to the draw bars.

By the construction thus fardescribed, it will be perceived that when two cars .come together, the buffers which extend in advance of the draw heads will engage each other and cushion the blow, and will effectually protect the draw heads and the mechanism connected therewith from shock and damage which is a desideratum.

The jaws or sectionsf, of the draw heads 0, are normally pressed together by springs as n, so as to enable them to securely hold the link; and in order to enable the operator to open the jaws and release the link without going between the cars, we have provided the mechanism shown in Fig. 1. This mechanism comprises a vertically disposed hand Wheel F, mounted on top of the car, pitmen p, q, connecting the wheel and the lower and upper jaws f, respectively, a lever G, fulcrumed adjacent to'the bottom and one side of the car, and a' pitman 0", connecting said lever G, and the wheel F. Vith this construction it will be seen that when the wheel F, is turned in the direction indicated by the arrow, by a person on top of the car or by a person on the ground, through the medium of the lever G, the jaws f, will be separated so as to permit of a withdrawal of the link.

In some cases it is desirable to permit the cars to come together without effecting a coupling, and to this end we connect the link by springs as s, to a crank arm 25, upon the lower end of a rock shaft H. This rock shaft is journaled in suitable bearings upon the end of the car and it has an endwise movement so as to permit it to assume the position shown in 'Fig. 1, for a purpose presently described. The rock shaft H, is normally dopressed by a coiled spring to, interposed between one of its bearings and the adj ustable collar '12, and it is raised when it is turned, by the inclined curved plate w, so as to carry the link above the plane of the buffers E, and prevent it from being caught between the same.

In the practical operation of our invention, when itis desired to efiect a coupling between two cars, the operator turns the shaft H, by the wheel ac, so as to bring the link above the draw head, when the spring u, will depress the shaft so as to carry the link in the plane of the draw head. Thus it will be seen that when the cars come together, the link will enter both the draw heads and bemg caught by the spring-pressed jaws thereof, will efi'ect the coupling. When it is desired to allow the cars to come together without effecting a coupling, the rock shaft is turned as before described so as to carry the link into the position illustrated in Fig. 1.

It will be seen from the foregoing descrip tion taken in connection with the drawings that we have provided a coupler which is safe and reliable in operation and one which renders it absolutely unnecessary for the operator to go between the cars either in coupling or uncoupling the same.

Having described our invention, what we claim is- 1. In a car coupler, the combination witha draw head comprising two separable jaws; of a wheel mounted on the car and pitmen connecting the wheel and the jaws, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a car coupler, the combination with a draw head comprising two separable jaws or sections and springs pressing the jaws together; of a hand wheel mounted on the car and pitmen connected to the hand wheel at diametrically opposite points and to the jaws or sections, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a car coupler, the combination with a draw head comprising two separable jaws or sections; of a hand wheel mounted on the car, pitmen connecting the hand wheel and the jaws or sections of the draw head, a hand lever, and a pitman intermediate of said lever and the hand wheel, all substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a car couplenthe combination with a draw head; of a shaft having a rocking and endwise movement, and a link connected to the shaft, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a car coupler, the combination with a draw head; of a rocking and endwise movable shaft having a crank arm, a curved and inclined plate engaging the arm of the shaft, and a link connected to said arm, all substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. In acar coupler, the combination with a draw head; of a rocking and endwise movable shaft having a-crank arm,a spring mounted on the shaft and adapted to depress the same, a curved and inclined plate engaging the arm of the shaft and adapted to raise the same and a link carried by said arm, sub stantially as specified.

7. In acar coupler, the combination with a car having longitudinal beams upon its under side, and slides movable in said beams; of a spring-backed draw-bar, a draw head comprising twojaws having trunnions at their inner ends journaled in plates carried by the draw head and also journaled in the slides 11, and springs engaging and adapted to hold the jaws of the draw head together, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM A. OASSIDY. THOMAS F. MCGEE. Witnesses:

W. S. DAVIS, W. B. PLEMONS. 

